A rush for food amid Venezuelan shortages

Saturday, June 11, 2016 - 01:15

Scuffles break out just outside a supermarket in Caracas where locals desperate for basic goods rush the doors. Gavino Garay reports.

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This is what happened when word got out that pasta went on sale at a Caracas supermarket.
NAT PUSHING, SHOVING, YELLING
It's a scene that's becoming more and more common in Venezuela.
This isn't the first time police has been called in. Just last week, a woman was shot dead when shoppers raided warehouses.
It's a reality residents don't want their kids to be a part of.
(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESIDENT, ROSA TORRES, SAYING:
"What are we doing if our future, our children are watching what is happening today? That we have to wait all night in line to buy flour, to buy pasta?"
(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) RESIDENT, ALEJANDRA GUILLEN, SAYING:
"We've been here since 10 p.m. at night to buy just three things. This is abuse."
Venezuela's opposition has blamed President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government for shortages that include basics like toilet paper and medicine.
They're pointing to economic mismanagement and corruption as the cause of the shortages.
Many in the opposition are calling for a referendum vote to remove Maduro from power to avoid a humanitarian crisis.

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